Mother tongue has been well defined in the essay being subjected to critical analysis as the first language a person learns as an infant. The essay states that this tongue may be accompanied by another when the child is exposed to two or more languages at the same time as happens in bilingual marriages, but does not add that this may be the case for new immigrants. There is worldwide concern that there is a loss in language diversity with the mother tongue being the main culprit. Consequently, there are efforts geared towards ensuring that as many native languages as possible are saved. The mother tongue is an important human heritage that should not be allowed to dwindle at the rate at which it is currently.
Mother tongue should not just be confined to the first language a child learns at home. A young family immigrating into another country speaking a different language from country of origin will be obliged to learn the new language as if native. Indeed, such children will spend most of their time at schools that teach using the new language. It means therefore that such children will most likely lose the language of their ancestors as they attain a new mother tongue in the new country. Therefore, we can conclude that mother tongue is any language that becomes dominant to a child whether it be from the mother, school or the surrounding and is an important resource that should be preserved for posterity.
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A language is part of human heritage which ought to be preserved just like efforts are made to preserve the environment. Estimates have suggested that world languages are disappearing fast. As an example UNESCO estimates that about six hundred languages disappeared in the 20 th century. Many languages are almost extinct with only a few speakers usually elderly ones. “Big” languages such as German have not been spared either as it has lost its status as a scholar’s language. This concurs with the essay and it is an untenable situation that needs to be redressed without further delays.
The dwindling of world languages started centuries back with the rise and fall of various empires, however, the current “disappearance” is blamed on globalization and new innovations which are based on English. Global efforts are in place to address language loss. Indeed, there is a new trend showing more countries adopting mother tongue in their education systems. It is a concept that is receiving growing acceptance worldwide. The mistaken belief among parents especially in Africa that they should speak to their children in school languages of instruction is being addressed using parent workshops. This is also gaining currency in Asia.
Mother tongue per se is somewhat cryptic and may not bring out the importance of the topic without explanation, but if qualified to say “Mother tongue is an endangered international heritage”, this brings out the meaning well. The critical response to the topic is clear without explanation because the topic already brings out the importance.
